The objectives of this proposed program are to improve the extent and quality of clinical research, to foster more collaborative studies among existing clinical and basic science services, to enhance the educational programs of the Institution, to strengthen the clinical faculty in numbers and expertise, to encourage minority students toward a consideration of research as a viable alternative career, and to improve the image of the college among its peers. The Meharry Medical College School of Medicine proposes by this application to purposefully improve its lagging clinical research capability toward the positions already attained by its teaching and patient care functions. An MBS Program already exists in our Basic Science area. The ten research proposals herein are multidisciplinary and focus primarily upon three broad areas of disease which are of significance to the predominantly black population served by this institution: diseases of the lung, sickle cell disease, and neoplastic disease. It is considered appropriate that Meharry explore and better understand these disease areas because of the College's mission to ameliorate the health problems of Black Americans, that constituency of the population it has historically served since its founding. The majority of these proposals have been individually reviewed by outside experts, and these suggestions thereby derived have been incorporated wherever possible, on the prior advice of the MBS Program staff.